The Chained Girl
by Luna Silvereyes
Summary: The Shining Girl. That was what they called that statue. No one knows how it got there, or why it was chained to the altar. To the one whom the statue resembled, the chains were disturbing. Did this statue have anything to do with why Aura vanished?


A/N: I wrote this in English class today. Ever since I saw the statue of Aura in the Hulle Granz Cathedral, I've wondered what it symbolized and what Aura truly might have thought about it. This story is her views on the image of her placed in the cathedral and what she does about how she feels. This story is told partly through the manga and partly through the anime version in Aura's POV with a character strictly from the manga.

The Chained Girl

That statue at the Hulle Granz Cathedral.

Of course. How could it slip my mind? The statue in my image, facing the ornate doors and whomever dared to visit this holy, forgotten field. How I detested that statue. It showed me, standing motionless atop an altar before the stained glass window, sunlight streaming in on what the creator of the statue imagined an inspiring, humbling scene. I'm quite sure that's what passed through the minds of all players who stumbled into this place and gazed upon the statue. They saw beauty, immortality and transcendence that was supposed to be me, the goddess of _The World._

But what I saw was entirely different.

One simple detail of the statue always caught my eye whenever I appeared to glower at it. The fact that my image was chained to the altar, as though they believed that it would float away if I so wished.

The chains extended over my shoulders, across my breast and around my torso, connecting to the surface of the altar and holding my image in place. I found it ironic, the statue's name; The Shining Girl.

Not so.

I believe The Chained Girl is a more fitting title.

While the PC's of the game might see my image as that of a shining goddess created to protect them from the dangers they faced every day, I saw it merely as a prison. To me, the statue was meant to _be_ me, the me that the administrators were unable to touch, even with all of their advanced technology and developed intelligence. They wished to capture and control me, keep my abnormal abilities in check and prohibit me from carrying out my functions as the Ultimate AI of the game, as Harald Hoerwick created me. I was meant to be his daughter, the daughter he would never have. I was created to govern _The World _and to protect it from harm.

But they could never catch me. I was untouchable and I still am, to this day.

But it wasn't their views of me to put me in such a degrading image that irked me so. No, I was willing to put up with the statue, itself. It was the chains that bothered me.

The fact that they'd chained my image to the altar was disturbing and slightly morbid. They seemed to be trying to express their desires to catch me by chaining my image down. They could control my image, whereas they couldn't control its inspiration.

Others don't notice the meaning of the chains as anything other than a decoration. They believe that I couldn't care less what they do to my image. Well they're wrong. I care very much. Oh, the statue itself is an object and nothing more, but the meaning boils me to the core, that the administrators despise my power so that they'd conspire to chain down a statue in my image to partially fulfill their wishes of controlling me.

Whenever I could sense that the Cathedral was empty, I'd arrive there and spend hours pacing before the statue, wracking all the data I possessed for a reason the administrators would want to use my power for. I also occasionally pondered about removing the chains and freeing my image. They would know it was me. I was sure that there were few places I could go without detection. In time, I would adapt and find a way to avoid them, but that would come, later.

As I paced, I thought. And as I thought, I paced. It was an endless, frustrating cycle. I couldn't cease and find an exit from it. I was trapped, just as my image was trapped within those horrid chains.

A few times, I was almost seen by passing PC's. Of course, they never actually saw me. Since my awakening, my feet seem to vanish from time to time for some reason, and this allows me to hover or fly. I would simply float to the ceiling or duck behind a pillar while they approached to admire the image. They never acknowledge the chains. They only see my image and wonder about me, wonder about the mystery behind me and about my creation, my purpose.

Normally, I don't mind too much to be seen by others. In fact, when I was younger and the thrill of being awake was still new, I reveled in it. While I'd been asleep, I was always able to hear the harsh voice of Morganna and the soft, melancholic voice of Tsukasa. But I had never been able to speak to him. Only once, for just a moment was I able to break through Morganna's hold on me and open my eyes, incomplete though I was at the time. I am quite certain that I spooked him with the dead stare I'd currently possessed. But Morganna quickly noticed and regained control over me and I was sent back into slumber.

However, being awake has lost its luster and I am quickly tiring of my role as goddess of this place. My daughter is my sole companionship and soon, even she will be gone. I feel my energy fading and I know I must rest.

But weary as I am, I feel I cannot leave such a horrendous reminder of me for the future players.

I have arrived yet again in the Cathedral. Today, I am able to walk instead of float and I make my way over to the statue, my living eyes staring into its dead ones. The statue's face is frozen in a blank stare, the mouth slightly open as though trying to say something, or protest. The arms are tightly bound by the chains and the anger I felt immediately rises to the surface.

I reach the base of the altar and gaze up at my image.

"Is this my world?" I wonder aloud, "Is this the fate I was destined to fulfill? An imprisoned life with nothing but memories to keep me company?"

The statue, of course, doesn't respond and I immediately feel the hopelessness weigh down upon me. I know it is futile to fight back. Since I awoke, I have been hunted by Skeith and the others. They pursue me relentlessly and though I've become quite skilled at avoiding them, I grow so tired, now.

While I lose myself in my sadness, I fail to notice a presence drawing nearer and only at the last moment do I finally realize that I've been seen.

"The statue!"

I whirl around, startled and immediately fly up into the air, hovering about four feet off the ground. My heart pounds as I stare into the eyes of a small Wavemaster. She slightly resembles the PC Mistral, but with many differences other than the hair and eyes. Her PC is colored black and white and she carries a Rune Staff from an advanced dungeon. But her level is far too low, so I figured that the staff had to have been a gift from a higher level player.

She stares at me, terrified.

"You're the statue!" is all she says. I lower myself to the ground and smile peacefully.

"Yes." I say.

"Are you The Shining Girl?" she asks. I'm tempted to humor her and say yes. But I feel my eyes darken and my smile fades.

"No," I reply.

"Then who are you?" she says, clutching her staff tighter. I notice that her hair is saffron colored, like Zefie's. My heart grows sick.

"I am The Chained Girl." I say.

"The Chained Girl?" she repeats. "But everybody in Mak Anu calls you Aura, The Shining Girl, the goddess of _The World_."

I can only sigh.

"I am Aura. But I am The Chained Girl and no goddess. That title was bestowed upon me. I am a PC, like you."

In a sense, that wasn't a lie. In a way, I was a modified and self-operating PC.

Her face broke out in a grin.

"You're a PC?" she exclaimed. "What server are you from? Have you been playing for very long?"

It was then that I realized that she'd taken what I said literally. I had to smile at her innocence.

"I am an AI, Artificial Intelligence. I was created to maintain the functions of _The World_ and keep it safe. Tell me, what is your name?"

"I'm Kitty-Seven!" she said with a salute, "Kitties are my favorite animals and seven is my lucky number!"

I nodded.

"I see. What are you here for?"

"To see the statue." She said. "But why are you here? Everyone in town says you avoid this place."

I glanced back toward the statue, effectively turning around. I was suddenly depressed by this conversation and wished that the girl would leave me alone. I was so weary of the whole thing, but how could I tell this to a child?

"Aura?" the child said uncertainly. I turned.

"Kitty-Seven," I said, "Would you do me a favor?"

She beamed. "Sure!"

"I need you to locate another AI by the name of Zefie. Can you deliver a message to her for me?"

"Yeah."

Her face looked so proud to be able to help someone that I felt so guilty at deceiving her. I knew that Zefie had been missing for a long time now, since she went searching for the bracelet I'd given to Kite. And Kite had long since left the game for good.

"Tell her I'm going to go to sleep, now." I told her.

Kitty-Seven seemed a little taken aback, but nodded.

"I sure will!" she declared. And with those parting words, she took off, leaving the Cathedral behind.

I turned back to the statue. There could be no more putting this off.

I took a breath and my power rose to the surface as I directed my anger toward the statue bearing my image. I would rid it of those horrible chains forever before I departed.

The statue began to glow as I started to Data Drain it. Slowly, it disintegrated starting from the head and feet and working its way toward the center in a flurry of golden particles that flowed through the air. A slight wind blew around me as I worked and by the time I finished, I was able to release the breath I'd been holding and watched as the chains fell to the altar with a metallic clank, no trace of the statue remaining. Then, I raised my eyes to the stained glass window and sighed. It was time to depart to The Sea of Data. There, I would rest and regain my energy and composure. The players could handle the game on their own. They no longer had any need of me.

Knowing Zefie would be all right by herself, I closed my eyes, activating a special Chaos Gate that appeared before me. Through it, I could see a black and light blue void that was my destination. There, I would be able to sleep peacefully until I was ready to reappear.

It was funny, I thought as I stepped toward the gate. I'd spent the whole first year of my life asleep, desperate and yearning to wake up, but unable to. And now, I was yearning and desperate to return to sleep. I had come full circle and I was strangely calm as the gate warped me away from all servers, severing my ties to _The World_ and finally leaving me to drift in the void. As I grew drowsy, I sensed servers and systems all around the world beginning to collapse and crumble. I was surprised. It seemed that Harald had linked me not only to the game, but also to the world itself, as well. If I'd known that beforehand, I might have reconsidered leaving for this place. But even AI's aren't perfect after all.

With this thought, I closed my eyes and snuggled into the nothingness, wrapping my cloak and shawl around me and sighing contentedly. The cares of my previous duties drifted away as I fell into a deep sleep.

I believe it was and will always be the best sleep I have ever experienced. For I have ceased to be The Chained Girl and now have become, The Lost Girl.

A/N: That's it. I hope it was good. This was one of those stories where I felt possessed by the spirit of writing. I was able to reach that inner pool of pure inspiration all writers have, but whose location I have yet to pinpoint as a mere rookie. Aura is a good inspiration for me. She was the inspiration for a character I created. ^_^


End file.
